Founder’s Day

Last Wednesday 18 June, our school gathered for the annual St Bart’s Founder’s Day Assembly.  Dr Fitter began by reflecting on the history of our school, “from its foundation in 1466 arising from the will of Henry Wormestall to the present day, an astonishing 559 years of history. Not many schools can boast of such a history.”

We heard how, in 1975, St Bart’s Boys Grammar School and the Newbury Girls’ School merged to form the St Bartholomew’s comprehensive school. Our school colours are a combination of the green of the old boys’ school and the purple of the old girls’ school.

Dr Fitter described the initial “gulf in attitudes between the boys and girls, despite having been close neighbours geographically for many decades.” They were accustomed to strict rules about not talking to the opposite sex so only the new Y7s were originally taught in mixed classes and so it took until 1980 for the school to be truly co-educational.

What has not changed is that school life continues to be underpinned by routines and rituals. From the Welcome Evenings for our new Y7s to the 13 Leavers’ Proms, these moments of reflection, recognition and celebration of shared experiences and accomplishments provide a sense of belonging and connectedness. They are markers on each individual’s St Bart’s journey – seven years of memories and moments of belonging.

Dr Fitter said, “a thriving school isn’t just about academic results; it’s about fostering an environment where all of you feel seen, valued, and part of something much bigger than yourself. Our school aim is for all of you to enjoy your learning, grow in confidence and self-worth so that you are able to thrive in school and also in the world beyond school.”

Finally, our new Head Student team (2025-26), Charlie, Katya, Jacob, Ellie and Swathi spoke of their plans for the future. Charlie told us more, “we unveiled our new School Officer Pledge, outlining ‘Ten Commitments’ that we will work towards, starting now. These commitments focus on areas such as strengthening student voice, improving wellbeing, increasing engagement in House competitions, supporting the school’s sustainability work, and much more.

During the assembly, we – Katya and Charlie – talked about the important training weekend at St Cassian’s; then introduced the pledge, which our Deputy Head Students, Jacob, Ellie and Swathi, read out, to inform each and every student of our ten goals . You can read the full pledge below! We have already started meeting with staff, Sixth Form students and lower School Councils to gather your ideas that reflect on our pledge.

The newly appointed House Captains were also introduced by their House Heads, who will lead on House competitions in expressive arts and sports, organise charity and fundraising events and oversee our Sixth Form mentoring programme for the lower school alongside Swathi.

We are excited to continue St Bart’s long-standing tradition of leadership and service to the school community, and even more excited to turn these pledges into action.”